The debate over mental health issues and gun control has already begun across the country.

Lawmakers are working to restore a ban on assault-style weapons, limit the number of bullets in ammunition clips and make it harder for mentally unstable people to obtain firearms. It's the latest in the long-standing struggle over the right to bear arms, and it's driving Americans and people in Louisiana to buy more firearms.

"Basically, I just feel like my rights are threatened, so I just wanted to stock up on ammo," said Vincent Brown after purchasing a new rifle Sunday at the Great Southern Knife and Gun Show at the Pontchartrain Center in Kenner.

Bean said they usually see a crowd of about 5,000 people at the traveling show. He estimated nearly 1,000 more people attended the show over the weekend. Some said they feared laws will change while others feared for their safety.

"Law-abiding citizens we're going to abide by the law, and if we don't have a gun and the criminal does, we're on unequal footing." Bean said. "The object is not to shoot to kill; it's to survive, protect your loved ones and get away safely."

John Gauthier is a former police officer who now restores and sells guns. He believes guns aren't responsible for the destruction of life.

"If that's what's in a person's heart, they're going to do it. It's the person not the inanimate object. This is a tool this is used by police officers all day," Gauthier said. "It's just kind of nonsense to want to ban an item that has no mind of it's own that can't hurt on it's own."

Gauthier wants a plan in place to put trained armed people in currently gun-free zones.

"That's where these mass shootings are occurring. The person with the diseased mind, the mentally deficient person who does something so atrocious they know there's no one there to stop them, so they choose these places," he added.

They agreed more needs to be done to address mental health issues instead of disarming innocent people.

Clinical psychologist Amy Henke also said these mass shootings are a complex issue that goes beyond gun control. She believes there should also be a focus on the lack of access to mental health care.